Office of Academic Affairs
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur

BIO 314: Ecosystem Ecology (OE, Credit, 3)

Course Content:

Ecosystem concepts- Classic, Systems- and Thermodynamic

• Ecosystem properties Openness, directionality, connectivity, emergent hierarchy, complex dynamics, self-regulation through feedbacks
• Major ecosystems of the world Selected, well studied ecosystems- coral reefs, mangrove swamps, deep sea, lakes, streams, alpine, etc.
• Ecosystem components Biotic components- autotroph, herbivore, primary carnivore, secondary carnivore, omnivore. And decomposer levels; Abiotic components- Important physic-chemical factors that influence the biotic components; human activities (Anthropocene concept)
• Energy Flow Primary sources of energy- sun; deep sea hydrothermal vents; geography of solar radiation; factors influencing light energy reaching the plants (latitude; cloud cover, albedo; etc.); photosynthetic efficiency; Assimilation efficiency, Production efficiency and Consumption (exploitation efficiencies) at different trophic levels; Productivity/biomass ratios; detrital pathway and microbial loop; food pyramids
• Materials cycling Biogeochemistry; Nutrient cycling- C, N, P; respiration and decomposition; soil ecosystem; detritus, Nutrient limitation in terrestrial and aquatic environments and its consequences; eutrophication; anthropogenic sources of nutrients into the ecosystem; ecological stoichiometry
• Ecosystem development Succession concepts; Primary and secondary succession; Changes in ecosystem functions during succession; Mechanism of succession-models; Concepts of climax. Biodiversity Diversity at species and ecosystem levels; Patterns of species diversity- Latitudinal gradients, Factors contributing to tropical species richness; Species-area relationships; Components of diversity- α, and γ. Measurement and interpretation of diversity- Different indices of diversity; species-abundance relationships
• Ecosystem regulation and stability Top-down and bottom-up controls; Ecosystem-level response to perturbation- natural and man-made (alien species introductions, habitat fragmentation; anthropogenic climate change); Ecosystem resilience; diversity-stability relationships
• Ecosystem health, Ecosystem services and their management Major criteria for assessing ecosystem health (productivity, organization, resilience); Human perspectives and metrics of ecosystem health; Major ecosystem services important for human wellbeing; Economic value of ecosystem services; Relation with biodiversity conservation
• Managed ecosystems- Agricultural and aquacultural ecosystems
• Remediation of degraded ecosystems (Restoration ecology) Basic principles of restoration ecology; Role of Biotechnology in restoration of degraded ecosystems; selected case studies
• Ecosystem modeling and models (Brief introduction) Analytical and simulation models; Multispecies interaction models; Whole ecosystem models; Ecosystem networks

Suggested Reading::

• Chapin, F. S., P. A. Matson, and P. Vitousek, 2012. Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. 2 nd ed. Springer,
• N.Y. Raffaelli, D. G., and C. L. J. Frid, 2010. Ecosystem ecology: A new synthesis. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
• Weathers, K., D. Strayer, and G. Likens, 2012. Fundamentals of ecosystem science. Elsevier. Reference books
• Dickinson, G., and K. Murphy, 2007. Ecosystems. 2nd.ed. Routledge, New York, N.Y.
• Jørgensen, S. E. (Ed), 2009. Ecosystem ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
• Loreau, M., 2010. From populations to ecosystems: Theoretical foundations for a new ecological synthesis. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J.
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Island Press, Washington, DC
• Mittelbach, G. G., 2012. Community ecology. Sinauer Associates.
• Morin, P. J., 2010. Community ecology. 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Sala, O.E., Jackson, R.B., Mooney, H.A., Howarth, R.W. (Eds.), 2000. Methods in ecosystem science.
• Springer Publ

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